PLASMA PROCESSING DEVICE, PLASMA PROCESSING METHOD AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ELEMENT INCLUDING SUBSTRATE TO BE PROCESSED

• US 20110309050A1
• Filed: 07/29/2011
• Published: 12/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Anelva Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Anelva Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Iori, Kazuyuki, Nakagawa, Yukito
• Granted Patent: US 8,475,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/67
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32357 Generation remote from the workpiece, e.g. down-stream
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32422 Arrangement for selecting ions or species in the plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3266 Magnetic control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/46 using applied electromagnetic fields, e.g. high frequency or microwave energy H05H1/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/4652 using inductive coupling means, e.g. coils
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/01 Manufacture or treatment

Abstract

The present invention provides a plasma processing device and a plasma processing method that can easily adjust plasma density distribution while making the plasma density uniform, and a method of manufacturing an element including a substrate to be processed. In an embodiment of the present invention, the inside of a vacuum vessel (1) is divided by a grid (4) having communication holes into a plasma generation chamber (2) and a plasma processing chamber (5). On the upper wall (26) of the plasma generation chamber (2), magnetic coils (12) are arranged such that magnetic field lines within the vacuum vessel (1) point from the center of the vacuum vessel (1) to a side wall (27), and, outside the side wall (27) of the plasma generation chamber (2), ring-shaped permanent magnets (13) are arranged such that a polarity pointing to the inside of the vacuum vessel (1) is a north pole and a polarity pointing to the outside of the vacuum vessel (1) is a south pole.

Claims

1. A plasma processing device comprising:

a vacuum vessel;

a plasma generation mechanism for generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel;

a substrate holder that is arranged within the vacuum vessel and for holding a substrate to be processed; and

a magnetic circuit for generating a magnetic field within the vacuum vessel,

wherein the magnetic circuit includes;

a first magnetic field generation means that includes a magnetic coil provided outside an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder and that is configured so as to generate, by the magnetic coil, a magnetic field line pointing from a center side of the upper wall toward a side wall side of the vacuum vessel; and

a second magnetic field generation means that is provided outside a side wall of the vacuum vessel along a circumferential direction of the side wall, that is arranged such that all of one of the magnetic poles point to an inside of the vacuum vessel and all of the other of the magnetic poles point to the outside of the vacuum vessel and that is a ring-shaped permanent magnet, and

according to a strength of a current applied to the magnetic coil, an area where a magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side.

5. The plasma processing device of claim 1,

wherein the vacuum vessel is divided by a bulkhead plate having communication holes into a plasma processing chamber for processing the substrate to be processed and a plasma generation chamber for generating the plasma with the plasma generation mechanism, and

the second magnetic field generation means is provided outside a side wall of the plasma generation chamber.

6. The plasma processing device of claim 1,

wherein the one of the magnetic poles is a north pole and the other of the magnetic poles is a south pole.

7. The plasma processing device of claim 1,

wherein a direction of a current flowing through the magnetic coil is applied such that a magnetic field line within the vacuum vessel points from a center of the vacuum vessel to the side wall.

8. The plasma processing device of claim 1,

wherein a plurality of the magnetic coils is concentrically provided outside the upper wall of the vacuum vessel, and the magnetic coils are wound such that currents flow in the same direction.

11. The plasma processing device of claim 1,

wherein the ring-shaped permanent magnet is formed by arranging segments of a magnet having a necessary magnetic field in a ring shape such that a direction of magnetization points to a center axis of the vacuum vessel.

2-4. -4. (canceled)

9. A plasma processing method comprising:

a step of arranging a substrate to be processed on a substrate holder provided within a vacuum vessel;

a step of generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel; and

a step of forming a separatrix expanding from an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder toward the substrate holder by a magnetic field line that is generated by a first magnetic field generation means including a magnetic coil provided outside the upper wall and that points, by the magnetic coil, from a center side of the upper wall toward a side wall side of the vacuum vessel and a magnetic field line that is generated by a second magnetic field generation means that is a permanent magnet provided outside the side wall of the vacuum vessel,

wherein, in the step of forming the separatrix, a shape of the separatrix is adjusted by adjusting a current applied to the magnetic coil, and, according to a strength of the applied current, an area where the magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side,

wherein the permanent magnet is provided along a circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel such that the same magnetic pole points to an inside and an outside of the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and

wherein the permanent magnet is a ring-shaped permanent magnet in which an inside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of one of the magnetic poles and an outside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of the other of the magnetic poles.

10. A method of manufacturing an element including a substrate to be processed, the method comprising:

a step of arranging the substrate to be processed on a substrate holder provided within a vacuum vessel for performing predetermined plasma processing;

a step of generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel; and

a step of forming a separatrix expanding from an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder toward the substrate holder by a magnetic field line that is generated by a first magnetic field generation means including a magnetic coil provided outside the upper wall and that points, by the magnetic coil, from a center side of the upper wall toward a side wall side of the vacuum vessel and a magnetic field line that is generated by a second magnetic field generation means that is a permanent magnet provided outside the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and of performing the predetermined plasma processing on the substrate to be processed,

wherein, in the step of performing the plasma processing a shape of the separatrix is adjusted by adjusting a current applied to the first magnetic field generation means, and, according to a strength of the applied current, an area where the magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side,

wherein the permanent magnet is provided along a circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel such that the same magnetic pole points to an inside and an outside of the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and

wherein the permanent magnet is a ring-shaped permanent magnet in which an inside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of one of the magnetic poles and an outside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of the other of the magnetic poles.

12. A plasma processing device comprising:

a vacuum vessel;

a plasma generation mechanism for generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel;

a substrate holder that is arranged within the vacuum vessel and for holding a substrate to be processed; and

a magnetic circuit for generating a magnetic field within the vacuum vessel,

wherein the magnetic circuit includes;

a first magnetic field generation means that includes a magnetic coil provided outside an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder and that is configured so as to generate, by the magnetic coil, a magnetic field line pointing from a side wall side toward the upper wall side of the vacuum vessel; and

a second magnetic field generation means that is provided outside a side wall of the vacuum vessel along a circumferential direction of the side wall, that is arranged such that all of one of the magnetic poles point to an inside of the vacuum vessel and all of the other of the magnetic poles point to the outside of the vacuum vessel and that is a ring-shaped permanent magnet, and

according to a strength of a current applied to the magnetic coil, an area where a magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side.

13. A plasma processing method comprising:

a step of arranging a substrate to be processed on a substrate holder provided within a vacuum vessel;

a step of generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel; and

a step of generating a separatrix expanding from an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder toward the substrate holder by a magnetic field line that is generated by a first magnetic field generation means including a magnetic coil provided outside the upper wall and that points, by the magnetic coil, from a side wall side toward the upper wall side of the vacuum vessel and a magnetic field line that is generated by a second magnetic field generation means that is a permanent magnet provided outside the side wall of the vacuum vessel,

wherein, in the step of forming the separatrix, a shape of the separatrix is adjusted by adjusting a current applied to the magnetic coil, and, according to a strength of the applied current, an area where the magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side,

wherein the permanent magnet is provided along a circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel such that the same magnetic pole points to an inside and an outside of the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and

wherein the permanent magnet is a ring-shaped permanent magnet in which an inside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of one of the magnetic poles and an outside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of the other of the magnetic poles.

14. A method of manufacturing an element including a substrate to be processed, the method comprising:

a step of arranging the substrate to be processed on a substrate holder provided within a vacuum vessel for performing predetermined plasma processing;

a step of generating a plasma within the vacuum vessel; and

a step of forming a separatrix expanding from an upper wall of the vacuum vessel opposite the substrate holder toward the substrate holder by a magnetic field line that is generated by a first magnetic field generation means including a magnetic coil provided outside the upper wall and that points, by the magnetic coil, from a side wall side toward the upper wall side of the vacuum vessel and a magnetic field line that is generated by a second magnetic field generation means that is a permanent magnet provided outside the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and of performing the predetermined plasma processing on the substrate to be processed,

wherein, in the step of performing the plasma processing, a shape of the separatrix is adjusted by adjusting a current applied to the first magnetic field generation means, and, according to a strength of the applied current, an area where the magnetic field line of the second magnetic field generation means collides with the magnetic field line of the first magnetic field generation means is changed either to the side wall side or to the center side,

wherein the permanent magnet is provided along a circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel such that the same magnetic pole points to an inside and an outside of the side wall of the vacuum vessel, and

wherein the permanent magnet is a ring-shaped permanent magnet in which an inside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of one of the magnetic poles and an outside of the circumferential direction of the side wall of the vacuum vessel is all of the other of the magnetic poles.